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What size am I?

10-29-2018, 12:12 PM

I decided I needed a few new clothes for Winter and so I took myself off to the shops. I found a top that I liked and that's when the problems started, what size am I? Am I small, medium, large or one of the larges with multiple x's? Three assistants were standing nearby so I called out “What size do you think I am?” and got the immediate answer “Medium, large, extra large!” Ah Well!
I decided the best bet was to grab a few sizes and try them on, which I did and found one that fitted. Extra large! Which I was none too happy about being only 167cm tall and 150lbs.
Having found that out I then got another couple of items, all extra large, and went off home.
Unpacked and tried on my new clothes! Three items all extra large, three different sizes!! I was not happy. I can understand the manufactures making clothes of a limited range of sizes, but why can't extra large be extra large? A centimetre is a centimetre wherever it comes from so why can't extra large be extra large wherever it comes from? There is no rationalisation at all!

Comment

I think you misunderstand me doc.
My problem was not finding the clothes to fit me but the fact that although the labels said they were all the same size -- they weren't! It's as if each manufacturer makes up their own mind as to what constitutes small, medium, large etc. There is no standard to these sizes!

Comment

... I can understand the manufactures making clothes of a limited range of sizes, but why can't extra large be extra large? A centimetre is a centimetre wherever it comes from so why can't extra large be extra large wherever it comes from? There is no rationalisation at all!

Do you ever come across this problem?

There is a rationalization but it is national or regional, not supra-national. Case in point: when I travel, I like to come back with T-shirts of my destination as souvenirs. In places like Cuba and Columbia, men are small so I must buy the very largest size available for the T-shirt to fit me. (In North America, I'm a Medium.) The T-shirts I bought in Columbia were barely OK but after a few washings they've shrunk so much that my wife now wears them...

Comment

There is a rationalization but it is national or regional, not supra-national. Case in point: when I travel, I like to come back with T-shirts of my destination as souvenirs. In places like Cuba and Columbia, men are small so I must buy the very largest size available for the T-shirt to fit me. (In North America, I'm a Medium.) The T-shirts I bought in Columbia were barely OK but after a few washings they've shrunk so much that my wife now wears them...

I realise all that Roger but if these things are done on a national basis then it's not really rationalisation, is it? As I said in the original post, a centimetre is a centimetre wherever you go, so why can't they standardise things and say "This shirt is so many centimetres round and so many centimetres long"? Confusion gone! everyone happy!

It is still very annoying when you buy three items in the same store, all labelled as being the same size, and having tried the first one on to be sure it fits, they are three different sizes when you get them home!